Jeremiah Tower moves forward on big new East Coast food hall

It’s been in the works for a while, but last night in upstate New York, the New Rochelle City Council approved the food-centric plan led by Good Profit Works for Echo Bay Naval Armory. New Rochelle is in Westchester County, about 20 miles north of New York City.

Why is this notable for San Francisco? Because as reported earlier, legendary Bay Area chef Jeremiah Tower (Stars, Chez Panisse) is attached to the project, as its executive culinary director.

Toqueland has the full press release detailing the ambitious project, but know that it’s a food hall, loosely based on the likes of Eataly, Chelsea Market and “the great food halls in Europe.”

Tower tells Scoop that there will be restaurants, stalls, food trucks and pop-ups plus classes and workshops. He hopes the event space is used frequently as well. But given all that, there are still some hurdles to face.

“Before anything happens there has to be a successful MOU or deal with the city, and the finances put in place,” Tower notes, via email.

That said, he’s already looking for a loft or office in that area.

Though this particular project began in April, with the RFP done in three months, for Tower, it’s a concept that has been brewing for a while. He says that a year before this opportunity came along, he was looking for a similar (“though more farm, farmer’s market, and restaurant”) project in California, maybe central California. Though he half-jokes that it still would’ve needed “that visionary billionaire.”